Braveheart Awards shine a light on courage of Gibraltar’s young people

A ceremony recognising the courage and resilience of seven of Gibraltar’s youngest citizens was held at The Mayor’s Parlour at City Hall on Thursday morning, as the Braveheart Awards were presented for the second consecutive year.

The Bravehearts Awards recipients this year are Elijah Fortuna, Leah Brown, Maya Brown, Noah Walsh, Paul Martin McGuigan, Oliver Revagliatte and Tiana Gonzalez.

The event, attended by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and former mayor and creator of the Awards Carmen Gomez, opened with words of welcome from the Deputy Mayor Andrea Simpson.

She said the occasion was “a special and incredible morning”, and that the awards had been created “to shine a light on the incredible bravery and outstanding courage” of the young recipients and their families.

She then introduced Ms Gomez, describing her as the “architect” of the initiative.

Ms Gomez explained that the idea arose from realising that while the community is known for its support of many causes, some of our young people were being overlooked.

She noted children “who, through no fault of theirs, are affected adversely by the illnesses or disabilities, which sometimes are life-threatening”, and stressed the importance of both recognising and rewarding their resilience.

She recalled how, at the end of last year’s awards, one young recipient approached her to say thank you “for having thought of us, for having brought us to the attention of the community, because not only have we known that they care, but they should also know what we are suffering and what we are going through.”

That encounter, she said, confirmed that the initiative was “in fact worthwhile”.

Addressing the children directly, she wished them “great support” and urged them to go forward “with great dignity, as you always do, [and] great perseverance.”

Each child present came forward to receive their award to warm applause from the audience of family members, friends and invited guests.

Mr Picardo then addressed the event which he described as “a fantastic occasion”.

He acknowledged that he was “a little lost for words” at such a non-political occasion but took the opportunity to highlight the broader context of support provided to the community.

He observed that much of the Government’s role, through the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) and other departments, related to “the hard financial side of providing support”, which can sometimes be reduced to “numbers and people, etc.”

Events such as the Braveheart Awards, he said, offered a rare chance to see “the effect of that work” and to celebrate how families and children themselves “leverage” that support and grow from it.

Recalling the popular saying that “not all heroes wear capes”, he suggested that what would be more apt is that “not all bravery is visible”, and that the quiet determination shown by the young recipients and their families deserved to be brought into the public eye.

He thanked Ms Gomez for having inspired the initiative and praised the children for their example of strength in adversity, as well as the families who stand behind them.